The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has charged former Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili with accepting a particularly large bribe by a group in a pre-arranged manner.
On August 12, 2026, the relative of the former Minister of Defense of Georgia, convicted Vasil Mkheidze, applied to the Prosecutor’s Office with a desire to cooperate with the investigation and provided the investigation with all the information he had. Juansher Burchuladze was also questioned and cooperated with the investigation.
As a result of the investigative and procedural actions conducted by the State Security Service, it was established that in 2021-2024, Irakli Gharibashvili, while holding the position of Prime Minister, was a person holding a state-political position.
In accordance with the legislation, among other functions, he determined the main directions of the government’s activities and organized the government’s activities, as well as coordinated and controlled the activities of ministers.
During the same period, the position of Minister of Defense of Georgia was held by Juansher Burchuladze and also represented a person holding a state-political position. In accordance with the legislation, as a minister, he was accountable to the Prime Minister of Georgia and, along with other rights and duties, coordinated the activities of the structural units of the ministry and exercised official supervision over the decisions and activities of relevant officials of the ministry.
Since the end of 2022, the Ministry of Defense of Georgia has introduced the need to purchase various expensive medical equipment and inventory, which should be carried out through secret procurement.
To participate in the mentioned procedures and to obtain unfair financial benefits, in agreement with Juansher Burchuladze, his relative – Vasil Mkheidze contacted a familiar businessman with relevant experience, who offered to announce the purchase in such a form that would guarantee the victory of the company related to the latter at a desired price, and in return he demanded 10% of the total contracts in cash for him Broadcasting.
After the person associated with Vasil Mkheidze initially refrained from the criminal agreement and demanded more guarantees from higher-ranking officials, the then Minister of Defense Juansher Burchuladze, as the accountable person, agreed with the then Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Gharibashvili that he would carry out procurements for the needs of the Ministry of Defense in a manner that would ensure that the companies associated with the aforementioned entrepreneur would win the contract at the desired price, and in return, they would receive a substantial illegal financial benefit.
Having received full official protection from Irakli Gharibashvili, who in turn demanded the transfer of the relevant material benefits to him and confirmed the reliability of the selected businessman in similar matters, upon the instructions of Juansher Burchuladze, the then Deputy Minister of Defense of Georgia – Giorgi Khaindrava and the then Head of the Procurement Department – Vladimer Ghudushauri, through deliberate actions, created a non-competitive environment in the process of purchasing various medical equipment and inventory for the LEPL “Giorgi Abramishvili Military Hospital of the Ministry of Defense of Georgia“, as a result of which the cost of goods and services to be purchased under secret procurement agreements was artificially increased by concluding unrealistic deals.
As a result, during 3 secret procurements, companies associated with the above-mentioned individuals supplied the Ministry of Defense of Georgia with medical equipment and other inventory with a real value of GEL 11,499,705 for GEL 18,484,960.
At the same time, in exchange for the above-mentioned procurements, relevant guarantees and protection, the businessman participating in the procurements transferred approximately 10% of the total contractual values ​​- GEL 1,900,000 – to Vasil Mkheidze in cash in several stages, of which the latter retained GEL 400,000 as personal gain, and transferred the remaining amount in full to Juansher Burchuladze. The latter kept 750,000 GEL of the 1,500,000 GEL received as a bribe for himself, and transferred the other half of the amount – 750,000 GEL in several stages, also as a bribe, to Irakli Gharibashvili.
As a result of the above-mentioned actions, the government suffered a large amount of property damage of 6,985,255 GEL and essentially violated the public interest.
The Prosecutor’s Office charged Irakli Gharibashvili under Article 338, Part Two, Subparagraphs “a”, “c” and Part Three, Subparagraph “e” of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which refers to the taking of a bribe in a particularly large amount by a person holding a state or political position and provides for a sentence of 11 to 15 years of imprisonment.
Regarding the other officials involved in the case, we would like to remind the public that they have already been convicted by the court and have been sentenced appropriately.
